The CureCervicalCancer Team

Patricia Gordon MD (Harvard ’78, UCLA School of Medicine ’82, Cedars-Sinai Internship ’84) was a radiation oncologist for 27 years. For many years she was a partner at Beverly Hills Radiation Oncology, and served on the medical team at Beverly Hills Cancer Center.

Her commitment to saving women’s lives in the developing world has brought her to an additional career as a non-profit leader and international women’s health advocate. In 2021, she was nominated as a Top 10 CNN Hero of the year for her efforts to fight the global epidemic of cervical cancer. Using the “See and Treat” method, she founded CureCervicalCancer, which trains local healthcare professionals to screen and treat women for cervical precancer. The organization has established 106 sustainable and ongoing CureCervicalCancer clinics in Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Haiti, Guatemala, Vietnam, and training programs in rural China – where help is needed most.

“Cervical cancer is the leading cause of death in countries where Pap smears are virtually nonexistent. We have a global epidemic: upwards of 300,000 women die every year from a nearly 100% preventable disease. Ninety-five percent of these women are in resource-poor countries living in extreme poverty. It was for these vulnerable women that I decided to act. I maintain fervently I cannot see the world and remain indifferent to it.”

The World Health Organization endorses a technique known as “See & Treat” for the detection and treatment of cervical cancer. It takes less than 15 minutes and it has nearly a 100 percent success rate. With this knowledge, she took this procedure into some of the most resource-poor areas of the world.  Her first stops were in Senegal and the northern region of Ethiopia. Since those two fateful trips, Dr. Gordon and her team have industrialized this procedure.

When the CCC team establishes a clinic, the equipment and locally trained professionals remain in place to continue the fight against cervical cancer for years to come. Our sustainable “Clinic in a Suitcase” model requires monthly reporting to measure outcomes, target successes, and assess where help is needed most. Dr. Gordon is committed to leading CureCervicalCancer into the future, and she has dedicated her life to overcoming this tragic and needless epidemic.

Judy Carmel brings over forty years of experience in business development as well as philanthropy to CureCervicalCancer, with a vast knowledge in finance. Her expertise is invaluable to CCC as she is part of the daily discussions at the CCC office. Her work with philanthropy is dear to her heart and taken very seriously. She is involved with many non-profit organizations and is a vital component of their operations.

“I am looking forward to being part of the team in Vietnam where I will see one of my clinics and CCC in action. This will help me in my future fundraising endeavors for the organization.”

Judy Laner brings to CCC six years of volunteer service work in Africa through Free the Children and the Knock Foundation. Her experiences include building schools, working in orphanages, and fundraising and building her own schoolhouse back in 2008. Judy joined forces with CCC in April 2013 in Ethiopia. While there, she took on the tasks of organizing the incoming patients and recording the data of the see and treat findings. Since then, she has joined CCC on numerous programs. She worked tirelessly while in Guatemala in September 2013 and Kenya in April 2014. She will also be busy with patient data on our upcoming trip to Vietnam in December 2014.

“What jazzes me the most about these trips are that I can really help people.  I learned how little it takes to make a huge difference in  someone’s life over in these remote locations.  I also really am fascinated about other cultures.  I feel that while I am helping them, they are teaching me as well.  I am constantly learning and taking something positive from the experience to apply to my own life.  I also feel that our basic needs are all the same no matter where you live.  People want to be healthy so that they can live their lives.  CCC is helping people to do just that and I am honored to be a part of it.”

While not traveling the globe, Judy resides in Chicago with her new husband and blended family of 6 grown kids and attends Harper College to finish her Interior Design degree.

Ben is the managing partner at Twenty40 Ventures. Prior to launching Twenty40 Ventures, Ben ran digital rights management at Collab. Ben has also worked in the television department at Creative Artists Agency

A licensed real estate sales agent since 2016, he has acquired and flipped multiple single-family and multi-family homes in the midwest and south. Outside of work, Ben is a board member on the Leonard Hill Charitable Trust. Ben is also a licensed pilot and holds multiple airmen certificates. Ben received an MBA in Real Estate Finance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and BA in Political Science and Integrated Liberal Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Rebecca is the Executive Director of CureCervicalCancer. She is a registered nurse specializing in women’s health. She brings over 10 years of combined clinical and professional experience working in the healthcare and humanitarian sectors. Prior to joining CureCervicalCancer, she provided direct patient care as a labor and delivery nurse. She also spent several years working as a case manager for persons living without homes, survivors of domestic violence, immigrants and refugees. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Her passion is to increase access to quality healthcare for underserved women globally.

McKenna graduated from Cornell University in 2020 with a B.S. in Human Biology, Health and Society. During her undergraduate years, she had the opportunity to study maternal and child health in communities throughout India, South Africa, and Brazil. Her time abroad allowed her to see first-hand how women’s health initiatives operate in resource-poor settings, which solidified her passion for working to improve women’s healthcare globally. She is thrilled to have the opportunity to apply her experience to furthering CCC’s mission of bringing care to vulnerable women around the world.

Cade Howard is a global health professional with 8 years of experience in the Global South. Cade’s experience has focused on program management, intervention design, and partner management. Prior to joining CureCervicalCancer, Cade worked out of Nairobi as a regional technical advisor at Sightsavers. He supported 8 national programs in East, Central, and Southern Africa in their efforts to eliminate blinding Trachoma. Prior to Sightsavers, Cade worked in clinical research management at the Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research. In PNG, Cade co-published work which contributed to a change in the WHO recommended treatment for Lymphatic Filariasis. Cade was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Vanuatu, holds an MSc in International Health from Oxford University and a BA in Anthropology from Brown University. Cade is passionate about forming efficient, collaborative solutions to global health issues. He looks forward to increasing access to healthcare for underserved and marginalized populations in his role with CCC.

Samson has over 5 years experience in Global Health having served in different Program management, administration and coordination capacities in the Oncology and Haematology space in Kenya focusing on screening, diagnosis, treatment and survivorship programs for Cervical Cancer, Breast Cancer, Lymphoma, Multiple Myeloma, Lung cancer, Sickle Cell and Haemophilia. He has passion for community-based programs aimed at enhancing access and linkages to clinical care and research. He firmly believes in organizations developing strategic partnerships and collaborations like local governments, NGOs to leverage on each other’s strengths to deliver optimal cancer control initiatives to the underserved populations in the world. He holds a BA in Business Management and program Management, with great passion to improving maternal health in Sub Saharan Africa as women are the pillars of the communities.

Peter Otieno plays a lead role in data management, monitoring and evaluation, and programmatic reporting. With 2 years of experience, Peter previously worked as a Data Officer in DREAMs Program supporting adolescent girls and young women.

Peter holds a BSc degree in Natural Resource Management from Egerton University and a Certificate in Data Quality and M&E fundamentals from Global Health eLearning.

Peter seeks to continue making a positive impact through his work, especially in ensuring CCC’s programs are as impactful and efficient as possible in bringing care to women in need.

Dorcus Opiayo brings over 14 years of Global Health experience to the CCC Team as Project Officer. Dorcus serves in a leadership role with CCC, managing relationships with local healthcare facilities and clinicians while supporting CCC’s capacity building work.

Prior to joining CCC, Dorcus worked on Cervical Cancer screening for HIV+ women with LVCT and as a nurse and site manager with International Medical Corps.

Dorcus seeks to identify and treat women who do not have access to Cervical Cancer screening or are otherwise marginalized. Keeping these women healthy and preserving the maternal caregiver role within rural families is Dorcus’s favorite part about working with CCC.

Adriano Ngaywa has 10 years’ experience in laboratory management, technology and public health. At CCC, Adriano and works to provide clients with accurate, reliable, and timely HPV test results. Prior to CCC, Adriano participated in community-based programs aimed at increasing access and linkages to clinical care such as HIV, Family Planning and TB programs.

Adriano holds a Diploma in Medical Laboratory Sciences from Kenya Medical Training College.

Adriano is happy to be a key pillar of CCC, his work is integral to CCC’s ability to identify HPV+ women who are in need of further treatment to prevent and treat emerging Cervical Cancer.

With 6 years’ experience, Millicent Olayo provides linkages to care and pshyco-social support to CCC’s clients in need of higher-level cancer care. Prior to CCC, Millicent worked in HIV Testing, HIV/AIDS Peer Education and Voluntary Counseling with LVCT.

Millicent holds a Diploma in Community Health from the Tropical Institute of Health and a Certificate in adherence and psychological counseling.

Millicent’s areas of interest are in Advocacy of Cervical Cancer Prevention & Treatment and HIV. Millicent is glad to be able to make a difference in the lives of HPV Positive women on a daily basis.